Is There A Top 5 Or Top 10 List Of The Best Trucking Companies “to Start” With?

...The ride along with G-Town really helped put the fear of the unknown to rest and made me want it more. I feel I have been given the tools to succeed and I am very prepared to take the leap and apply them. ... Cant wait to get this ball rolling and start a training diary in the spring

Dave, I take to heart how your concrete experience was so confirming; I've never been inside a big rig, and it's a big commitment to make without at least stepping into a cab somewhere, short of a bona-fide ride along. It would serve me as a goal to work something out along these lines in upcoming months based on your report and those of others. I was introduced to considering trucking by a cousin who ran a lane on the eastern seaboard until recently but he's out of the business for now.

Time flies and spring is just about upon us! I expect your training diary to be no less than excellent and look forward to hearing more when you've started up. Best with transition and prep stuff in the meantime!

Nick, trucking is very much a completely misunderstood career. Many people attempt it while only a small percentage of those aspiring to be road warriors ever make it. A major component of the confusion about trucking is this idea that there are certain companies out there that would be the best ones to start/work with.

The whole concept of success at trucking begins and ends with the individual. Drivers create their own fate. I started my career at Western Express, a trucking company well known for giving people their first shot at trucking, but also having terrible online reviews. We have to ask ourselves, "Who writes those reviews?" If we're honest with ourselves the answer has to be, "The greenhorn rookies who don't really know anything about trucking." That's right, how can we trust those reviews? They are penned by people who failed. They are produced by people who don't have the slightest understanding about the trucking career.

Making the transition into trucking is challenging on so many levels. One of those is getting accustomed to the concepts of "performance based pay." In trucking you get paid for how much you can accomplish. There's way more to this than just being able to drive long hours. Being able to accomplish way more than your peers is what sets you at the top of the food chain in trucking. It puts you at the top of the pay scale, and elevates your satisfaction with the career to a level unknown by most of those who just slog it out continually hoping it will get better when they find "the right company."

I hear my dispatcher asking me questions like these all the time...

"How did you manage to get unloaded at that customer after hours?"

"How did you get that customer to unload you in the middle of the night when they tell us the receiving cut-off is at 1500?"

"How do you always have the phone numbers of critical contacts at these customers when our other drivers can't seem to make any connections with them?"

"Can you explain to me how you managed to get that customer to move your appointment time forward? None of our other drivers can seem to do that."

There's a lot of important little nuances and details to this job that most people overlook. Properly executing the details is what makes the difference out here. Being a top performer takes a lot more than driving skills and know how. People skills are generally what's lacking in most truck drivers. Knowing how to effectively communicate puts a driver way ahead of the game.

None of this is given to you by any top 10 company. In fact, the name on your truck doors has nothing to do with your success at this. I was extremely successful at Western Express, and was one of the two people out of my orientation group of 50 plus drivers who actually went on to a successful trucking career. These days I work for Knight Transportation, yet I still see new drivers come and go here on a regular basis. They tell me they are leaving because they can't make any money working for this company. They say that to me! I'm earning twice the average truck driver's pay while working here.

Trucking is competitive. People simply don't get that. You have got to put up some impressive numbers if you want impressive rewards. The real question a newbie like yourself has to be asking is, "How can I perform this job in such a way that I am part of the top 10 percent or maybe even the top five percent of drivers?" Once you discover the answer to that question, you are well on your way to success as a road warrior.

What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver

One Out Of Five Drivers Does A Great Job

Are Major Carriers Nothing More Than Starter Companies?

Well said, I’m hoping to be one of those successful Western express drivers as well. I still can’t believe they gave me a brand new truck haha.

Hello Everyone,

Thank you so much for the recommendations of the companies that a newbie like me should start looking for training and work. For sure, I have my work cut out for me to look though these various companies, but I greatly appreciate the recommendations. I value your opinions much more vs. just reading various articles and then trying to guess which one I should pick.

Errol V, I don’t have a CDL , I’m just doing some basic research to get a better idea of trying to pursue a truck driving career. Yet I did want to get some information and insight about a few aspects of a truck driving career after getting a Class A license.

Old School, I send you a special thanks, for taking the time to read through my post and being so kind and patient to provide such thorough and detailed answers. I so greatly appreciate your help and guidance. Based on some of your comments in other postings in this forum, “Thank you for all that you share and the great help that you provide.”

One last question, since I know that about 2 or 4 trucking companies up and went out of business last year and seemed to have left some of their drivers stranded, is there any way to research a company to see if they might be going belly up?

Everyone, thank you very, very much for your help. : - )

The numbers are more like 2 or 4 PER DAY. Remember that any company that has trucks, then goes out of business, is a trucking company, be it one truck or several thousand.

Of the major carriers that are no longer with us currently, I can think of none that offered paid CDL training via their own program, or with an affiliate. That's one thing to consider. I see none of the major carriers such as Knight-Swift, Prime, Inc., CRST, Schneider, Werner, Heartland, Roehl, Crete-Schaffer, etc. going belly up.

Thankfully, NEMF and Celadon (the two largest to fall) were true anomalies in the industry, though each showed previous signs of potential major problems before they each closed their doors permanently.

When you decide on your company to begin with, I would have no trepidation with picking one that has more than 1,000 trucks. As for that specific company that you feel is your #1 choice, ask about it on here. Chances are there will be someone here that is already an employee, and will provide any additional information you seek.

Thank you again PackRat. This is some very helpful information, and it will be a tremendous help when I try to find a good and solid company to apply for a job and hopefully work at.

Yet again, that is why I rather seek current information in forums like this, so I can hopefully get the latest and greatest current information that is going on in the trucking world, from truckers who are open and honest about what is going on out there, vs. reading old books and dated online articles about the trucking industry.

Thanks a MILLION! : - )

Hello. I’m Nick. I’m new to this group.

I was wondering, is there a top 5 or top 10 list of the best trucking companies “to start” with, when one is a brand new Truck Driver with a Class A license, with no experience?

I live in Los Angeles, and I just wanted to see if there were any recommendations for some great companies that a newbie should consider to start with, with a newly issued Class A license and no experience?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Yes. The best company to drive for is the one which will pay you to drive their trucks!

And the best truck to drive?

The one they will pay you to drive!

Marc Lee wrote:

Yes. The best company to drive for is the one which will pay you to drive their trucks!

And the best truck to drive?

The one they will pay you to drive!

I know you mean well with this Marc, but honestly, there are many Mom & Pop companies barely surviving, that I would not drive for...and for many reasons. Primary of which; the equipment is typically inferior, in need of significant repairs they cannot afford to perform. So yes, "the truck you are paid to drive" isn't road worthy. Is that the "best company" to drive for?

The best company to drive for is one which has top-notch training, newer/well maintained equipment, a professional driver support team and ample freight moving through or near your chosen home base.

Any company listed in this link, matches the above criteria: Trucking Company Reviews

Marc Lee wrote:

Yes. The best company to drive for is the one which will pay you to drive their trucks!

And the best truck to drive?

The one they will pay you to drive!

I know you mean well with this Marc, but honestly, there are many Mom & Pop companies barely surviving, that I would not drive for...and for many reasons. Primary of which; the equipment is typically inferior, in need of significant repairs they cannot afford to perform. So yes, "the truck you are paid to drive" isn't road worthy. Is that the "best company" to drive for?

The best company to drive for is one which has top-notch training, newer/well maintained equipment, a professional driver support team and ample freight moving through or near your chosen home base.

Any company listed in this link, matches the above criteria: Trucking Company Reviews

To avoid working for "Ma and Pa" companies creates a... Well: We're both old enough to know.

If the scale weren't so horribly sliding one way as of 2020: I would work for Ma & Pa with their 5 trucks that are 10yrs old and even offer to repair what I can.

If you have never worked at Wal-Mart in any department: You would not understand the severity of that lavishly self-centered, mildy arguably demonic, yet perfectly logical statement.

I feel strong enough about this, I will go as far as to provide an equivalent analogy: You can either save the 75yr old mother of your children and 10 grandchildren who are of breeding age or you can save 1,000 terminally ill strangers.

Ma and Pa mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, right? However: Ma and Pa in trucking are now in their 90s and nearly crippled to the point of no recovery (without government interference).

Daniel...I’m at a loss. No idea what your point is.

Marc Lee wrote:

Yes. The best company to drive for is the one which will pay you to drive their trucks!

And the best truck to drive?

The one they will pay you to drive!

I know you mean well with this Marc, but honestly, there are many Mom & Pop companies barely surviving, that I would not drive for...and for many reasons. Primary of which; the equipment is typically inferior, in need of significant repairs they cannot afford to perform. So yes, "the truck you are paid to drive" isn't road worthy. Is that the "best company" to drive for?

The best company to drive for is one which has top-notch training, newer/well maintained equipment, a professional driver support team and ample freight moving through or near your chosen home base.

Any company listed in this link, matches the above criteria: Trucking Company Reviews

To avoid working for "Ma and Pa" companies creates a... Well: We're both old enough to know.

If the scale weren't so horribly sliding one way as of 2020: I would work for Ma & Pa with their 5 trucks that are 10yrs old and even offer to repair what I can.

If you have never worked at Wal-Mart in any department: You would not understand the severity of that lavishly self-centered, mildy arguably demonic, yet perfectly logical statement.

I feel strong enough about this, I will go as far as to provide an equivalent analogy: You can either save the 75yr old mother of your children and 10 grandchildren who are of breeding age or you can save 1,000 terminally ill strangers.

Ma and Pa mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, right? However: Ma and Pa in trucking are now in their 90s and nearly crippled to the point of no recovery (without government interference).

Bizarre.

I feel like I'm in the Progressive Insurance ad when Flo sends it to the sports guy for a confusing analogy.